What does the Ministry of Health say about the information about the shortage of medicine to treat hand, foot and mouth disease?

Regarding the lack of medicine to treat hand, foot and mouth disease in Ho Chi Minh City and some southern provinces and cities, in an interview with the reporter of Health & Life Newspaper, Mr. Le Viet Dung - Deputy Director of the Drug Administration Department said that there are currently 13 immunoglobulin drugs with valid circulation registration certificates in Vietnam.

The Drug Administration of Vietnam has licensed the import of 15,000 vials of immunoglobulin according to regulations to meet the special treatment needs of medical facilities.

Currently, 8,258 vials of medicine have been imported to Vietnam and supplied to treatment facilities. It is expected that 2,000 more vials will be imported to Vietnam by the end of November.

In addition, it is expected that in the last months of 2023, immunoglobulin drugs that have been granted circulation registration certificates will continue to be imported to Vietnam.

Regarding drugs containing the active ingredient phenobarbital, there is currently a drug produced by a domestic facility that has been granted a valid circulation registration certificate in Vietnam. The facility has imported raw materials to Vietnam and is ready to produce the drug in the near future to supply to medical facilities.

"The Drug Administration of Vietnam has licensed the import of 21,000 vials of injectable drugs containing the active ingredient phenobarbital without a circulation registration certificate to meet the treatment needs of medical facilities. Currently, 21,000 vials of phenobarbital injectable drugs have been imported to Vietnam and supplied to facilities in need," said Deputy Director Le Viet Dung.

According to Mr. Le Viet Dung, the Drug Administration Department continues to receive requests from a number of medical facilities to import 1ml barbit injection (injection solution containing phenobarbital) to meet the special treatment needs of hospitals.

The Drug Administration of Vietnam has issued a document guiding import establishments to complete import application dossiers according to regulations.

Regarding drugs containing the active ingredient milrinon, there are currently two domestic production facilities, CPC1 Hanoi Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company and Pymepharco Joint Stock Company, that have drugs available to supply to medical facilities.

According to Mr. Le Viet Dung: Reality shows that the input supply is not lacking, but there are still treatment units and localities that have not been proactive in developing and implementing plans for reserving, purchasing, and receiving drugs in accordance with reality to ensure enough drugs for professional work, medical examination and treatment for patients.

According to statistics, in week 39/2023, the whole country recorded 7,048 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, no deaths. Compared to the previous week, the number of cases increased by 3.8%. Accumulated from the beginning of the year to this point, the whole country recorded 100,210 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease; 22 deaths. Compared to the same period in 2022 (52,296/3), the number of cases increased by 91.6%, deaths increased by 19 cases.

Accumulated from the beginning of 2023 until now, Hanoi has recorded 2,063 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (an increase of nearly 1.4 times compared to the same period in 2022) but no deaths have been recorded.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the number of cases of hand, foot and mouth disease since the beginning of the year has been about 30,000. In the past week alone, Ho Chi Minh City recorded 1,532 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, an increase of nearly 1.5 times compared to the average of the previous 4 weeks. Districts with cases per 100,000 people include Binh Tan district, Nha Be district and Binh Chanh district. The city is currently treating 346 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, of which 103 cases are located in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is an infectious disease caused by the Enterovirus group of intestinal viruses, most commonly Coxsackie A16 and Enterovirus type 71. Of these, Enterovirus type 71 (EV71) causes many dangerous complications such as encephalitis, meningitis, pneumonia, myocarditis and can lead to death. The disease can occur at any age, but up to 90% occur in young children, especially those under 5 years old./.